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On Jan. 26, 1966, Australian Jane Beaumont, 9, had been tasked with watching her two younger siblings at the Glenelg beach, as she had done on past occasions. Except this time, Jane, 7-year-old Arnna, and 4-year-old Grant never returned to their suburban Adelaide home. Though police had some clues to work from—OZY reports the children were seen speaking to a blond man, bought a meat pie with money their parents say they didn't leave the house with, and were seen heading home by a postman—the truth of their disappearance persists more than 50 years later in a case that forever altered the way Australians parented. In January, international coverage amped up again as the 50-year anniversary approached; one particular development led authorities to hunt down details of an already deceased suspect. It didn't pan out.

But the coverage may have had an effect: News.com.au in January reported that over the past two years, police have fielded 159 calls about the case, or one every four days on average. Two months later, Australia's ABC reported that 246 calls had been received so far in 2016. But the case is now so old that the person who committed the crime is either dead or between 70 and 100 in age, Detective Superintendent Des Bray notes. "The window of opportunity to get a result is in decline." A $1 million reward is being offered to anyone who can provide new information. Police excavated a site in connection with the case as recently as 2013, reports ABC. (Read about another baffling mystery that, oddly, also involves a beach near Adelaide.)

These kids are with Jesus Christ, their bodies could be down a old abandoned well, only God knows, Who ever done it should be very old now, and live in fear knowing the day of judgment is coming soon.

OBG

Jul 18, 2016 8:08 PM CDT

Sadly, this thread has been hijacked, but still I would like to point out that back in those days it was common for older siblings (even as young as 8 or 9) to be placed in charge of the younger ones to give the parents (mother) a well-earned break from child care. As the oldest of my crew, I didn't necessarily like it, but I understood. However, the point was to keep the kiddies from damaging THEMSELVES: keep them from drowning, running into the street, sticking themselves with pins, punching each other into a coma, lighting themselves on fire; bring them home with bee stings and cuts, etc., etc.). Child abduction and pedophilia simply were not on parents' radar. By 1966, American parents had learned that evil exists and they must restrict their children's movements; probably this harsh reality had not yet hit young, exuberant, guileless Australia. Something sickening happened somewhere along the line, resulting in today's horrible syndrome of "helicopter parenting" and the suffocation of kids' need to explore and learn. 1966 is not really so long ago. I hope this case gets solved, to honor these children and their parents, and to give one more tiny clue about the depths to which humanity has sunk.

K.C.

Jul 18, 2016 5:47 PM CDT

I find it a little odd that after all these decades, the police haven't even invented a way to locate remains. So it is I suppose, when we have so many people to engender so much crime. Too bad.